Convertible garment and container

Abstract

A system (20) having the form of a garment (22), such as a jacket or pullover top, which can be transformed into one of a number of different fully closable containers (24), such as a rucksack, bag, or daypack, or vice-versa and a method for performing the transformation. Closure of the neck aperture (15) is operated by actuating a first closure means (1) extending from a common point (14) below the neck on the back of the body (R) of the garment, over the shoulders on either side of the neck aperture down the front (F) of said body.

Description

[0001]This invention concerns a system which can be transformed from a garment, such as a jacket or pullover top, to one of a number of different fully closable containers, such as a rucksack, bag, or daypack, or vice-versa.[0002]Prior art arrangements which can be transformed between a garment mode and a container mode and vice versa comprise elements which are typically in use in only one of these modes. Conversely in either mode some elements of the arrangement are not in use at all and are redundant for that particular mode. An example of such a jacket is disclosed, for example, by EP0269578. In such arrangements a jacket may be transformed into a rucksack: the arrangement comprises straps (or tapes) attached to the inner side of the jacket which have no use while the arrangement is being worn as a jacket. The straps are exposed by turning the jacket inside out. In this way, the straps are used exclusively in the rucksack mode, being redundant in the jacket mode.[0003]When the a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0004]Conversely, the sleeves of the jacket are redundant in the rucksack mode, being merely stowed within the body of the container. In this mode the sleeves are inconveniently placed within the rucksack, taking up valuable space within the container volume and, being unstowed, also obscuring objects or items contained within the rucksack, thereby reducing accessibility and the overall functionality of the arrangement in the container mode.

[0048]On short trips the system presented here can be used as main transport container for everything required on the trip. At the destination, such as a hotel, the container will be emptied and the system can be converted into either a small day pack that can be extended when going shopping or can be used as a jacket if the weather turns windy, rainy or cold. Thereby the amount of luggage to be carried on short trips is reduced by removing the need to pack an additional small bag and an extra jacket into the travelling luggage.

Problems solved by technology

Conversely in either mode some elements of the arrangement are not in use at all and are redundant for that particular mode.

The straps thus rest against the wearer's back during the wearing of the jacket which can be uncomfortable and inconvenient.

There is a further inconvenience when the jacket is put on or taken off as the straps may hinder insertion or removal of the wearer's hands and arms into or out of the sleeves.

Conversely, the sleeves of the jacket are redundant in the rucksack mode, being merely stowed within the body of the container.

In this mode the sleeves are inconveniently placed within the rucksack, taking up valuable space within the container volume and, being unstowed, also obscuring objects or items contained within the rucksack, thereby reducing accessibility and the overall functionality of the arrangement in the container mode.

Other prior art arrangements generally involve multi-step operations to effect this conversion which may be cumbersome and non-intuitive and do not offer sufficient example, by U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,854.

This conversion procedure may be excessively burdensome and time consuming as the user is obliged to unthread the drawstring from around the waist of the garment and then thread the string back again through the plurality of grommets located around the waist and on the cuffs and may therefore require several minutes to complete.

As a consequence, the weight-carrying capacity of such rucksack is significantly limited and is unlikely to support repetitive loading of relatively heavy items.

Another potential disadvantage of this arrangement is the lack of modularity offered by the rucksack configuration.

Indeed, only a single size of rucksack can be obtained therefore limiting the versatility thereof.

The bag thereby obtained relies only on pre-existing pockets of the coat arrangement for storage space therefore significantly reducing the carrying capacity of the bag.

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